Colorado law mandates that children up to the age of 6, or under 55 inches tall, need to be placed in some type of child restraint system.

Those from birth to 1 year old, and under 20 pounds, need to be in an approved child seat that is placed in the back seat and rear facing.

From one to four years, and 20 to 40 pounds, children need to be in a forward facing child seat.

For both these age groups they should be using the five-point restraint system that approved seats come with.

When it comes to older children, it gets harder to convince those kids that the booster seat is still needed.

According to the Colorado State Patrol, the Colorado law is just a minimum requirement and they encourage parents to follow more stringent guidelines.

Experts have been recommending expanding that to include older and taller children and this latest study agrees with that.

Researchers found that children up to 8 years old and 80 pounds, when in a booster seat, had a 45 percent less chance of injury during a car crash than those just using a standard seat belt.

According to child seat restraint expert Selena Silva, at The Children's Hospital here in Denver, the most important factor is height, and she recommends keeping them in a booster seat until they are over 57 inches tall.

That along with making sure the seat belt, used with the booster seat, is used properly. Proper use means both the shoulder and lap belt are used.

The shoulder belt should be over the shoulder and front chest, not near the neck or behind the back.

The lap belt needs to be placed over the low hips and upper thighs, not over any of the soft abdomen area.

The important point is to keep children protected during the split instant a crash can occur, even though they might not appreciate having to stay in a booster seat.